E Ink Holdings and Himax Technologies have announced a partnership to develop a smart retail solution at Touch Taiwan 2024. The innovative technology combines Himax’s WiseEye ultralow power AI sensing with E Ink’s electronic paper displays, with a focus on enhancing retail signage and display markets.
WiseEye is an AI accelerator-embedded ASIC platform that is specifically designed for ultra-low power applications. This makes it perfect for deploying convolutional neural networks (CNN)-based machine learning (ML) models in battery-powered AIoT devices. The technology supports a range of functions such as motion sensing, human presence detection, people counting, face detection, and speech recognition. These capabilities are crucial for predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, asset tracking, and occupancy detection, where power efficiency, bandwidth optimization, and privacy are top priorities.
The first-generation WiseEye Module combines the proprietary WE1 AI processor and the HM01B0 Always-On Sensor (AoS) camera. It is highly compact, measuring only 12.5 mm x 17.0 mm x 2.45 mm, and includes a 22-pin FPC connector for easy attachment to device boards. This facilitates swift system integration using either a standard 24-pin ZIF FPC connector or standard assembly processes.
This advanced technology offers retailers the ability to automatically adjust display content based on customer proximity and behavior, providing personalized marketing strategies. Additionally, it supports improved inventory management and offers valuable insights into customer traffic and preferences, ultimately enhancing the overall retail experience.
Himax Technologies has been developing WiseEye since its launch in 2018 as part of their strategy to provide advanced AI solutions for IoT devices with low power consumption requirements.
With this collaboration with E Ink Holdings at Touch Taiwan 2024, Himax Technologies aims to bring its cutting-edge technology to the retail industry to enhance the shopping experience through personalization and optimized inventory management.
